Author Profile: Dr. Seuss

Nearly every person who has grown up in the United States is aware of one particular author – Dr. Seuss. It’s hard to find anyone else who can compare to this legendary writer, poet, and cartoonist.

Theodor Seuss Geisel is a name you probably aren’t familiar with. That’s because Geisel is more commonly known as Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg, and Rosetta Stone, all of which are pen names he used throughout his career.

Geisel published 46 different children’s books. The books are widely known for their imaginary characters and frequent use of rhyming. His most popular titles that remain classics today include:

– Green Eggs and Ham

– The Cat in the Hat

– One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

– How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

– Horton Hears a Who!

– Horton Hatches the Egg

– And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. He attended Dartmouth College and briefly went to Lincoln College in Oxford but did not earn a degree there. He enjoyed two long marriages and passed away in 1991 at the age of 87.

Most of Geisel’s books are written in anapestic tetrameter. Don’t let this big word fool you, though.
This form of poetic meter is made up of four rhythmic units, formally called anapests. Each anapest is made up of two “weak” syllables followed by a “strong” syllable. An example from his book Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories follows:

“And today the Great Yertle, that Marvelous he
Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see.”

Many critics attribute this rhythmic type of poetic meter to why his writing was so popular as many readers can remember and recite lines from his works.

To demonstrate the popularity and cultural impact of his books, a number of them have been adapted into TV specials and series, feature films, and Broadway shows. Geisel was also the recipient of several awards, including twice receiving the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. He made his political views publicly known and was a liberal Democrat and ardent supporter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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